How Tulane Football Influenced American Mexican Cuisine

(Much of this is from Wikipedia)

This is the story of 2 former Tulane football players. The first is Max McGee.



McGee played college football in the 50s at Tulane University in New Orleans, where he was a fullback and a top punter. At the time, Tulane was a member of the Southeastern Conference. As a Green Bay Packer, McGee scored the first touchdown ever in a Super Bowl.

McGee entered into a restaurant partnership with fellow Packer left guard Fuzzy Thurston; they operated the Left Guard Charcoal Houses in Appleton, Fond du Lac, Madison, Green Bay, and Eau Claire. They also operated the Left Guard Steak Houses in Menasha, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis–St. Paul, and the Left End Steak House in Manitowoc. In addition, McGee co-founded the Mexican restaurant chain Chi-Chi's with restaurateur Marno McDermott.

The second player is David Pace.



Pace grew up in Louisiana, learning the operations of his family's syrup business. He earned a football scholarship to Tulane University, where he played in the first Sugar Bowl in 1937 and earned his undergraduate degree in science. During World War II pilot training school brought him to San Antonio, Texas, where he returned after his discharge in 1945 and began a career in the food industry.

Pace began his own food business of bottled syrups, as well as jellies and jams. All of these products were made, packed and shipped out of a small space in the back of a liquor store that he and his wife, Margaret, rented. Over time, he expanded the business to a variety of other condiments. In 1947 he decided the real “syrup of the Southwest” was Mexican picante sauce—which is now known as salsa or picante sauce.

Starting with a basic recipe, he experimented with different blends of ingredients. He tested the results on his golf buddies, before settling on one mix of jalapeños, onions and tomatoes. He named his creation “picante” sauce—Spanish for “piquant”, meaning “flavorful” or “spicy”.

While continuing to sell some 58 assorted condiments, he continued modifying his picante sauce formula for the better part of a decade. As demand grew, Pace dropped the rest of the company’s lines and focused on Picante sauce.

He marketed Picante sauce to restaurants, using it during his meals, and leaving it behind on the table for other patrons and the restaurant owners to try when he was done.

When he started selling his salsa, Pace looked for a supplier for peppers. He even tried growing his own jalapeños — but the local deer were so fond of his peppers that he had a hard time maintaining a supply.

Eventually, he began buying his peppers directly from local farmers. Later, the company began following the “jalapeño trail”, buying from different regions according to the harvest season. In recent years, the Pace brand has developed its own pepper seeds. Today it uses more than 25 million pounds of jalapeños every year – more than anyone else in the country.

ETA: Just found a fun fact:

In 1995, the company was acquired by Campbell Soup Company for $1.115 billion.